I included a variety of articles on the CSB report, but there are other lab events as well.
- Ralph
Chemical Safety Headlines =46rom Google
Friday, October 21, 2011 7:00:50 AM
A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
Table of Contents (33 articles)
EXPLOSION AT PORT ALLEN GAS PLANT LEAVES TWO WORKERS INJURED
Tags: us_LA, industrial, explosion, injury, gas_cylinders
WORKER SUFFERS MINOR INJURIES IN FIRE AT SAINT-GOBAIN PLANT
Tags: us_NY, industrial, fire, injury, oils
NATURE NEWS BLOG: US LAB SAFETY UNDER FIRE
Tags: laboratory, explosion, death, follow-up
CSB RELEASES NEW VIDEO ON LABORATORY SAFETY AT ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS
Tags: laboratory, explosion, injury, follow-up
STUDENT INJURED IN CHEMISTRY LAB ACCIDENT
Tags: us_WV, laboratory, release, injury, unknown_chemical
NORTHBOUND 101 FINALLY RETURNS TO NORMAL
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, gasoline
TANKER CARRYING HYDROCHLORIC ACID OVERTURNS IN LINCOLN COUNTY
Tags: us_KY, transportation, release, response, hydrochloric_acid
IN PICTURES: FIRE AT POINT DOUGLAS PLANT
Tags: Canada, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
UPDATE: CHEMICAL FIRE ENGULFS NAIL PRODUCTS FACTORY
Tags: us_AR, industrial, fire, response, acetone
10/20/2011: EPA AND MUNICIPALITY OF GUAYNABO REMOVING 1,500 TOXIC DRUMS AND CONTAINERS FROM ABANDONED WAREHOUSE
Tags: us_PR, public, discovery, environmental, waste
NEW CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD REPORT COULD BE THE LAB-SAFETY TURNING POINT
Tags: laboratory, explosion, response, follow-up
CSB RELEASES INVESTIGATION INTO 2010 TEXAS TECH LABORATORY ACCIDENT; CASE STUDY IDENTIFIES SYSTEMIC DEFICIENCIES IN UNIVERSITY SAFETY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, explosion, response, follow-up
MAPPERLEY TOP SCHOOL EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICALS FOUND
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, discovery, response, unknown_chemical
TEXAS TECH RELEASES STATEMENTS REGARDING RECENT EXPLOSIONS IN CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY LABS
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, explosion, response, unknown_chemical, follow-up
BOMB SQUAD DEAL WITH UNSTABLE CHEMICAL AT LABORATORY =B7 THEJOURNAL
Tags: Ireland, public, discovery, response, picric_acid, time-sensitive
UF SEES INCREASE IN CHEMICAL ACCIDENTS ON CAMPUS THIS SEMESTER
Tags: us_FL, laboratory, explosion, injury, follow-up
STATE SLAPS PRECISION CASTPARTS WITH FINE FOR MAY GAS RELEASE
Tags: us_OR, industrial, release, response, acids, follow-up
LAFD NEWS & INFORMATION: FIRE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS CLEAR INDUSTRIAL AREA IN SYLMAR
Tags: us_CA, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
FEDERAL BOARD CITES DEFICIENCES AT TEXAS TECH DURING 2010 BLAST
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, explosion, response, follow-up
FINAL REPORT RELEASED ON 2010 TECH CHEMISTRY LAB EXPLOSION|MYFOXLUBBOCK
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, explosion, response, acids, follow-up
ACADEMIC LAB SAFETY UNDER EXAM
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, explosion, injury, follow-up
TECH'S UPDATE ON FRIDAY'S LAB ACCIDENT AND JAN 7, 2010, ACCIDENT IN CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, explosion, response, acids, follow-up
FACTORY DENIES POISON GAS THREAT AS SCHOOL CLOSES
Tags: United_Arab_Emirates, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical, follow-up
SECOND WORKER IN INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT DIES
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, death, hydrogen_sulfide, waste, follow-up
CITY WORKER TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER HAZMAT INCIDENT
Tags: us_GA, laboratory, release, injury, irritant
TURLINGTON HALL EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_FL, laboratory, release, response
HAZMAT CALL FORCES CALIF. ART INSTITUTE EVACUATION
Tags: us_CA, education, release, injury, cleaners
FOUR PEOPLE SENT TO HOSPITAL AS CHEMICAL FUMES HIT CALGARY SWIMMING POOL
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, chlorine
FLUORIDE LEAK REPORTED AT CITY WATER PLANT
Tags: us_VA, industrial, release, response, water_treatment
SCHOOL CLOSED IN POISONOUS GAS ALERT
Tags: United_Arab_Emirates, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
MFD FIRE REPORT =96 OCTOBER 18, 2011
Tags: us_KY, public, fire, response, fire_extinguisher
NINE WORKERS CHECKED OVER AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL AT FIFE PLANT
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, nitric_acid, waste
REPORT FINDS FAULT WITH COLLEGE LABS OVER POOR SAFETY RECORD =96 USATODAY.COM Tags: laboratory, discovery, response, follow-up
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EXPLOSION AT PORT ALLEN GAS PLANT LEAVES TWO WORKERS INJURED
Tags: us_LA, industrial, explosion, injury, gas_cylinders
PORT ALLEN, LA (WAFB) -
Authorities reported two workers are in the hospital after a plant explosion.
They said there was a "boom" but no fire.
It happened at the Airgas plant in Port Allen around 9:45 a.m.
Fire Chief Rick Boudreaux said an "inert gas" cylinder failed, leading to the explosion.
Several other cylinders were damaged.
Three workers were hurt in the explosion, but Boudreaux said the injuries are considered minor.
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WORKER SUFFERS MINOR INJURIES IN FIRE AT SAINT-GOBAIN PLANT
Tags: us_NY, industrial, fire, injury, oils
WHEATFIELD =97 An employee at the Saint-Gobain plant on Walmore Road in Wheatfield was injured during a flash fire there Wednesday morning.
Niagara County Sheriff=92s deputies said hot oil spilled from a pipe at the plant and started a small fire. An employee suffered minor burns to his hand and forearm and was treated at the scene.
Saint-Gobain produces ekonol polyester resin at that location using heated oil that is contained in pipes. It appears the pipe became over pressurized and the hot oil spilled over igniting nearby materials, sheriff=92s deputies said. No damage estimate has been given.
---------------------------------------------
NATURE NEWS BLOG: US LAB SAFETY UNDER FIRE
Tags: laboratory, explosion, death, follow-up
The United States' Chemical Safety Board (CSB), which usually investigates large industrial accidents such as refinery explosions, yesterday published its first ever report [pdf] into an accident in an academic lab. The study looks into a January 2010 accident at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, where graduate student Preston Brown lost three fingers of his left hand during a dangerous experiment. But the concerns it identifies spread wider than Texas Tech, and are relevant to anyone working in US chemistry laboratories =96 as Nature discussed after the death of Michele Dufault at Yale University in April.
Brown was grinding up chunks of nickel hydrazine perchlorate =97 using a hundred times the recommended amount =97 when it detonated. The CSB found numerous safety gaps leading up to the accident, and a =93lack of organizational accountability and oversight=94 at Texas Tech. Even two previous near-misses in the department hadn=92t led to changes in safety culture. (Texas Tech has made changes since the accident). The experiment=92s funding agency, the Department of Homeland Security, is also criticized for not demanding specific safety provisions.
The incident raises wider issues, relevant to academia as a whole, the CSB says =96 concerns that have been widely discussed since 23-year-old research assistant Sheharbano Sangji died after a lab fire at the University of California, Los Angeles, in late 2008. As CSB chairman Rafael Moure-Eraso told a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston last year, "safety practices at US universities leave a lot to be desired". The CSB has gathered information on 120 different university laboratory incidents since 2001, but that is likely only a fraction of the real number of minor incidents and near-misses never reported. It urges better documentation and communication, and asks for better guidance from bodies such as the American Chemical Society on assessing hazards in chemistry labs. It points out that health and safety personnel should not be merely =91advisory=92 =96 they or their managers should have the power to make real changes.
---------------------------------------------
CSB RELEASES NEW VIDEO ON LABORATORY SAFETY AT ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS
Tags: laboratory, explosion, injury, follow-up
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) today released a new safety video on the potential hazards associated with conducting research at chemical laboratories in academic institutions.
The 24-minute video focuses on three serious laboratory accidents: the death of a lab research assistant in 2008 in a flash fire at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA); a death by accidental poisoning of a highly regarded Dartmouth College professor in 1997; and a 2010 explosion at Texas Tech University (TTU) that severely injured a graduate student, who lost three fingers in the blast and suffered eye damage.
Entitled "Experimenting with Danger" the video notes that the CSB has collected preliminary data on 120 explosions, fires, and chemical releases at university laboratories and other research facilities that occurred around the country since 2001, causing deaths, serious injuries, and extensive property damage.
---------------------------------------------
STUDENT INJURED IN CHEMISTRY LAB ACCIDENT
Tags: us_WV, laboratory, release, injury, unknown_chemical
A student in Marshall's chemistry program was injured in chemistry lab Tuesday afternoon.
The student was working in a research lab when he was accidently splashed in the face with chemicals.
"We still have to figure out exactly what went wrong, why it went wrong and all the rest of that," Michael Castellani, chemistry department chair, said.
The student was not working on something that normally would have happened in the class setting.
"The greatest likelihood is this isn't something that involves, in a meaningful way, the teaching labs," Castellani said. "That is to say if you're a student in one of our freshmen labs or organic labs or something like that, this is not something you as a student would be doing."
Castellani said that he did not believe the student was wearing protective goggles.
The student was treated for minor chemical burns at Cabell Huntington Hospital and was released Tuesday night.
---------------------------------------------
NORTHBOUND 101 FINALLY RETURNS TO NORMAL
Tags: us_CA, transportation, release, response, gasoline
Tens of thousands of North Bay commuters were late for work, school, appointments and other destinations Thursday after a fuel tanker hit a big rig on Highway 101 in Cotati, spilling 1,200 gallons of gasoline across the roadway.
There were no injuries in the crash, but the impact halted the morning commute at 6:30 a.m. and began a day-long traffic snarl as the CHP shut the northbound lanes of the region's main transportation artery at Highway 116. Southbound traffic then also came to a crawl as rubberneckers slowed to get a look at the damaged trucks and roadway.
---------------------------------------------
TANKER CARRYING HYDROCHLORIC ACID OVERTURNS IN LINCOLN COUNTY
Tags: us_KY, transportation, release, response, hydrochloric_acid
A tanker truck carrying hydrochloric acid flipped over on a road in Lincoln County Wednesday night, causing people in the area to close their windows to avoid the fumes.
The accident happened on Highway 698. Officials say the truck was carrying 78,000 pounds of hydrochloric acid to a water treatment plant when it ran off the road. Hazmat crews say only a few gallons leaked from the tanker, but people in the area were warned to shut their windows and doors because of the fumes.
---------------------------------------------
IN PICTURES: FIRE AT POINT DOUGLAS PLANT
Tags: Canada, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
The owner of a chemical manufacturing and paper recycling plant said a fire overnight in Point Douglas may have wiped out his entire business.
"There's hundreds and hundreds of thousands worth of equipment in there, hundreds and hundreds of thousands," said Sheldon Blank, owner of Gateway Industries Ltd., adding all the equipment is uninsured, as is the rest of his business. "It's a total loss."
The massive fire broke out in an unused paper mill about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday night, sending thick black smoke across northeast Winnipeg. As of 2 p.m. Thursday the fire was still smoldering, sending small amounts of acrid smoke throughout Point Douglas.
Gateway employee Gary Barthelette lives right behind the plant and said he opened his back door to see flames shooting out of the roof.
---------------------------------------------
UPDATE: CHEMICAL FIRE ENGULFS NAIL PRODUCTS FACTORY
Tags: us_AR, industrial, fire, response, acetone
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- A large fire broke out Thursday morning at a factory that produces artificial fingernails and other chemical products in the Maumelle/North Little Rock area.
Assistant Fire Chief Steve Smith says when he arrived just after 9 a.m. he saw heavy smoke but the fire department had just finished water operations and are beginning foam operations.
Employees were filling bottles with acetone when the fire started.
Officials are still unclear as to how the fire started. No injuries are reported. An area of 330 meters has been evacuated. Officials say there is no danger outside the perimeter but they will continue to monitor the area and air quality.
---------------------------------------------
10/20/2011: EPA AND MUNICIPALITY OF GUAYNABO REMOVING 1,500 TOXIC DRUMS AND CONTAINERS FROM ABANDONED WAREHOUSE
Tags: us_PR, public, discovery, environmental, waste
(New York, N.Y.) Removing a significant threat to public health and safety, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the municipality of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico are proceeding with an emergency cleanup of improperly stored hazardous materials at a storage facility in Barrio Vietnam, Guaynabo. EPA is working closely with Guaynabo fire, police and hazardous materials personnel on the removal of over 1,500 drums and other containers of various chemical compounds to prevent a potential chemical release or explosion. The site is a residential area about seven miles south of San Juan that is not zoned for this type of commercial business.
"EPA is working hand in hand with government officials in Guaynabo to prevent a release, fire or explosion of hazardous substances that could endanger the health of people living near the facility,=94 said Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator. =93EPA has taken quick action to protect the local community and the environment to ensure that hazardous materials from the facility are disposed of properly. EPA thanks the municipality of Guaynabo for their cooperation.=94 Mayor Hector O'Neil of the Autonomous Municipality of Guaynabo said: =93Our municipality has joined as a facilitator in the removal work of all materials that represent a risk to our residents. We have made available to EPA all our resources so that the work is done effectively and efficiently while minimizing the risks to our neighbors and the sector. We have made available to EPA both staff from medical emergency services and OMED."
EPA personnel responded on Sept. 27 after receiving information about an abandoned chemical warehouse in the area. The site contains over 1,500 drums, chemical totes, bags and other containers of chemicals, many of which are not labeled. One warehouse is partially collapsed and the chemicals are exposed to wind and rain. Found in varying states of disrepair and neglect, many of the drums are leaking their contents onto the ground. The containers are haphazardly stored, and in some instances have collapsed onto other containers. The former owner and operator of the business is deceased.
Chemical substances including acids, solvents, discontinued commercial chemicals and caustic chemicals are being secured or prepared for proper disposal at an off-site licensed facility. EPA will be sending hundreds of containers determined safe to transport back to the original manufacturer.
---------------------------------------------
NEW CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD REPORT COULD BE THE LAB-SAFETY TURNING POINT
Tags: laboratory, explosion, response, follow-up
In February 2010, we reported that the United States Chemical Safety Board (CSB) was undertaking its first-ever look at the safety situation in academic labs after one explosion critically injured and maimed a graduate student at Texas Tech University (TTU) and another, not long before, killed a technician at the University of California-Los Angeles. The following May, the lead investigator on that study, Cheryl McKenzie, told us that the TTU incident appeared to reveal "widely applicable" safety issues "that need to be explored."
On Wednesday, the CSB proved itself as good as its word by issuing an incisive, detailed, and wide-ranging report entitled Texas Tech University Laboratory Explosion. This groundbreaking document lays out what went wrong at TTU; what it means for that institution -- and, by extension, for thousands of other institutions across the nation; and what needs to be done about the situation right away.
---------------------------------------------
CSB RELEASES INVESTIGATION INTO 2010 TEXAS TECH LABORATORY ACCIDENT; CASE STUDY IDENTIFIES SYSTEMIC DEFICIENCIES IN UNIVERSITY SAFETY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, explosion, response, follow-up
Denver, CO, October 19, 2011 =96 The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) today released its final report into a January 7, 2010, chemistry laboratory explosion at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, recommending that the American Chemical Society develop new hazard evaluation guidelines for laboratories and calling on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue a Safety Bulletin on the importance of controlling the physical hazards of chemicals in academic laboratories.
---------------------------------------------
MAPPERLEY TOP SCHOOL EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICALS FOUND
A primary school and a number of homes were evacuated after police found "a small quantity of unknown chemical" in a Nottinghamshire house.
A 320ft (100m) cordon was placed around the property on Central Avenue in Mapperley Top as a precaution.
Bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion on Thursday afternoon.
Several roads were closed but have since reopened and people have been allowed to return to their homes.
---------------------------------------------
TEXAS TECH RELEASES STATEMENTS REGARDING RECENT EXPLOSIONS IN CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY LABS
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, explosion, response, unknown_chemical, follow-up
Texas Tech has released statements regarding explosions in their Chemistry and Biochemistry labs over the past two years.
The most recent explosion, which occurred Friday, October 14th of this year, took place in an unattended laboratory and no one was injured.
According to the University, the explosion occurred in a working laboratory hood, the building was evacuated, and the Lubbock Fire Department and its hazmat team responded, and cleaned up acid which had been sprayed across the floor of the lab as a result of the explosion. The building was reopened to faculty and students about two hours after the incident.
Texas Tech=92s Office of Environmental Health and Safety, as well as outside experts, are investigating the accident, and the laboratories involved in the projects where the explosion took place have been locked down.
---------------------------------------------
BOMB SQUAD DEAL WITH UNSTABLE CHEMICAL AT LABORATORY =B7 THEJOURNAL
Tags: Ireland, public, discovery, response, picric_acid, time-sensitive
AN ARMY BOMB disposal team was called out to deal with an unstable chemical at a science facility in Dungarvan, Co Waterford this afternoon.
The unit were alerted after a quantity of picric acid was discovered during an audit at Lancaster Laboratories in the town. Arriving on scene at 3.45pm, they were able to remove the chemical to nearby waste ground.
Specialists then carried out a controlled explosion to make the chemical safe. The scene was declared safe at 4.20pm.
---------------------------------------------
UF SEES INCREASE IN CHEMICAL ACCIDENTS ON CAMPUS THIS SEMESTER
Tags: us_FL, laboratory, explosion, injury, follow-up
On Oct. 11, an explosion in a chemistry lab sent a student to the hospital with cuts on his face, hands and forearms. On Monday, Turlington Hall was evacuated after a toxic chemical was spilled in the basement. On Wednesday, fire trucks pulled up in front of Leigh Hall, a chemistry lab building, as it was evacuated because someone pulled a fire alarm.
Major Brad Barber, spokesman for the University Police, said this frequency of incidents involving chemical accidents is unusual.
The last incident formally reported to UPD was on May 19.
Bill Properzio, director of UF's Department of Environmental Health and Safety, said that with about 3,000 labs on campus, accidents are bound to happen from time to time, but there are usually only a handful each year.
---------------------------------------------
STATE SLAPS PRECISION CASTPARTS WITH FINE FOR MAY GAS RELEASE
Tags: us_OR, industrial, release, response, acids, follow-up
The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division hit Precision Castparts with a $600 citation for two =93serious=94 violations on Wednesday.
OR-OSHA completed its inspection of Precision Castparts in Milwaukie following a May 12 emergency at the plant, finding that employees were exposed to unnecessary breathing hazards and weren't properly trained.
Clackamas Fire District No. 1, Portland Fire & Rescue and area police bureaus raced to the Clackamas County line outside of Precision Castparts on Southeast Johnson Creek Boulevard in the late afternoon the day before. An orange-colored cloud rose from the plant a little after 5:30 p.m., causing a burning sensation in the eyes of neighbors.
A power surge hit the plant as workers dipped a 700-pound piece of titanium into a chemical bath containing hydrofluoric and nitric acids. This process cleans silica off the titanium, which causes off-gassing of the chemicals.
Officials found that positive-pressure, self-contained breathing apparatus were not worn by employees engaged in emergency response. They also found that the employer did not provide proper training, resulting in two electricians going into the hot zone of the mill to switch the power feed.
---------------------------------------------
LAFD NEWS & INFORMATION: FIRE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS CLEAR INDUSTRIAL AREA IN SYLMAR
Tags: us_CA, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical
SYLMAR- A small fire at a manufacturing plant, just before daybreak on Wednesday morning, resulted in a protracted Hazardous Materials Incident, requiring the evacuation of 220 people.
At 6:16 am, on October 19, 2011, the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a reported "Structure Fire" at 12500 North Gladstone Avenue, in a mostly industrial section of Sylmar in the north San Fernando Valley. Having prior knowledge of the type of business, the facility's size (nearly 350,000 total square feet) and its contents, additional resources were requested, based on the "potential" the incident presented.
The fire erupted during a routine cleaning at "Spectrolab", a solar-cell, manufacturing plant for spacecraft power systems. Thanks to the quick thinking of the on-site, specialized cleaning personnel, the fire was swiftly extinguished and confined to one room of the facility. Despite that, there were extended operations by two LAFD Hazardous Materials (HazMat) Squads, as they worked to stabilize the extremely hazardous chemicals involved and ensure there was no danger to the building's occupants or the surrounding area.
The on-scene hazards triggered a significant response, with 122 Firefighters converging to the scene, as well as the LAPD and the Los Angeles County Health Hazardous Materials Division (LACo HHMD).
The Spectrolab workers that were present at the fire's point of origin, escaped without incident, as 15 other company employees were evacuated for precaution. All citizens in the surrounding industrial area were also evacuated. A total of 220 people were escorted to an offsite location for safety, while LAFD personnel prepared for entry.
---------------------------------------------
FEDERAL BOARD CITES DEFICIENCES AT TEXAS TECH DURING 2010 BLAST
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, explosion, response, follow-up
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board said it identified systemic deficiencies during an investigation of a Jan. 7, 2010, chemical explosion at Texas Tech, the federal agency announced during a webinar Wednesday.
The board is a non-regulatory agency that investigates industrial chemical accidents. The board cannot issue fines or penalties, said its chairman, Rafael Moure-Eraso, during the webinar, which was broadcast to 500 locations.
Tech hosted a webinar viewing, attended by about 150 people, largely graduate and undergraduate students and faculty members.
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FINAL REPORT RELEASED ON 2010 TECH CHEMISTRY LAB EXPLOSION|MYFOXLUBBOCK
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, explosion, response, acids, follow-up
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board releases a final report on an explosion in a Texas Tech chemistry lab that seriously injured a graduate student in January 2010.
Recommendations announced in a live webcast include expanding measures to address and control physical safety hazards and implementing an incident and near-miss reporting system.
Texas Tech's Vice President for Research, Taylor Eighmy, says all of the agency's recommendations will be followed.
He says since the accident, hundreds of previous deficiencies have been addressed.
=93The fact that we had 1660 in this department at that time suggests that there was a huge issue at play,=94 Eighmy said. =93We just went back earlier this year and went back through all the laboratories again in that department and we had 125 deficiencies. That's getting better. Much, much, much better. But it's not perfect.=94
Dr. Eighmy said Friday's small explosion in another chemistry lab shows the need for continuing improvement.
Tech released new details about that incident.
According to a statement, employees of a chemical production company had been working in that laboratory, which was unoccupied at the time.
The explosion sprayed dilute acids onto the floor, prompting a hazmat team response.
---------------------------------------------
ACADEMIC LAB SAFETY UNDER EXAM
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, explosion, injury, follow-up
A fire at one university that led to a researcher=92s death and an explosion at another that seriously injured a graduate student are among several incidents in the past few years that have turned a spotlight on safety practices in academic chemistry laboratories.
Since 2001, more than 120 university lab accidents have caused injuries, millions of dollars in damages, and one death, according to the federal Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board (CSB). In a report released on Oct. 19, CSB presents details of one of them=97a Jan. 7, 2010, accident in a Texas Tech University chemistry department lab in which a graduate student lost three fingers on his left hand, burned his hands, and injured his eyes.
The Texas Tech investigation is CSB=92s first examination of an accident involving a university laboratory. But the board emphasizes that its recommendations are applicable to all academic research settings and could protect the more than 110,000 students and postdoctoral researchers working in hundreds of U.S. academic labs. Also, CSB last week released a safety video directed to researchers working in academic labs.
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TECH'S UPDATE ON FRIDAY'S LAB ACCIDENT AND JAN 7, 2010, ACCIDENT IN CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT
Tags: us_TX, laboratory, explosion, response, acids, follow-up
This news release from Texas Tech about last Friday's lab accident in the chemistry and biochemistry department at the university:
At about 5:30 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 14), a small explosion occurred in Room 332 in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Building on the Texas Tech University campus. The laboratory was unattended, no one was hurt, and the explosion occurred in a working laboratory hood. The building was evacuated. Lubbock Fire Department and its hazmat team responded and cleaned up the acid that sprayed onto the floor of the laboratory. The building was opened about two hours later.
The accident is being formally investigated by the Texas Tech Office of Environmental Health and Safety and outside experts. The laboratories associated with the work have been locked down to facilitate the investigation. The precise cause of the explosion is not known, but it appears to involve two large glass bottles, each reportedly containing dilute acids (one with nitric, one with acetic) that were adjacent to each other on the left side of the hood. There were two roto-evaporation apparatus on the right side of the hood that were not damaged, but the explosion did crack the base surface of the hood and scatter glass throughout the lab.
The laboratory was being used solely by employees of an organic chemical production company. This company has a contractual research relationship with a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The laboratory hood where the explosion occurred was being used for an organic compound crystallization, but it appears that this reaction had no role in the explosion. The Texas Tech investigation of the accident will be released upon its completion.
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FACTORY DENIES POISON GAS THREAT AS SCHOOL CLOSES
Tags: United_Arab_Emirates, industrial, fire, response, unknown_chemical, follow-up
DUBAI // A manager of the chemical factory that burst into flames last week and continued to smoulder yesterday denied there were toxic gases in the air.
The denial came a day before the Greenfield Community School, which was shut down as a precaution, is to hold an informational session about the closure for parents.
The meeting today also follows a warning from Dubai Civil Defence about dangerous gases in the area.
"There are no poisonous gases," said Karim Smadi, the regional manager of Reda Industrial Materials, which owns the warehouses.
"We consider there are no risks. But we are not in a position to say what kind of precautionary measures that the school should take."
Mr Smadi said it was up to the authorities to issue instructions.
More than 70 chemicals were stored at the plant at the time of the fire. Civil Defence was still investigating the cause of the blaze yesterday. Smoke continued to rise from the company's four gutted warehouses in Dubai Investments Park at 4.30pm yesterday. Only an administrative building remained untouched.
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SECOND WORKER IN INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT DIES
Tags: us_CA, industrial, release, death, hydrogen_sulfide, waste, follow-up
The 22-year-old composting worker left brain dead after an industrial accident Wednesday in Lamont was taken off life support and died, according to the Kern County coroner's office.
Heladio Ramirez, of Arvin, died at 11:04 a.m. Friday in Kern Medical Center's intensive care unit. His family in the days prior had been agonizing over whether to end life support.
Days earlier, Ramirez' 16-year-old brother, Armando Ramirez, died inside an 8-foot-deep drainage tunnel at Community Recycling and Resource Co. when he was overcome by hydrogen sulfide, a deadly byproduct of the composting process that attacks the central nervous system.
The brothers were cleaning out the tunnel. Heladio Ramirez saw his brother unconscious and went down to rescue him, and was also overcome by fumes. A third worker who did not enter the tunnel was also overcome, but was treated and released.
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CITY WORKER TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER HAZMAT INCIDENT
Tags: us_GA, laboratory, release, injury, irritant
One city of Savannah employee was taken to a hospital after a HAZMAT incident at a water treatment facility this morning, a Savannah Fire and Emergency Services spokesman said.
Firefighters were sent to the President Street Reclamation Facility just before 10 a.m. when an employee was exposed to an irritant in a lab, said Mark Keller.
The employee was exposed to fumes of an unknown nature when she opened a cabinet in the water reclamation laboratory, and she complained of irritated eyes and a scratchy throat, said Keller. The firefighters evacuated the five employees on duty at the time and commenced a Level 1 HAZMAT operation.
The employee who opened the cabinet was treated on the scene and taken to St. Joseph=92s/Candler for further treatment, said Keller.
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TURLINGTON HALL EVACUATED AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
Tags: us_FL, laboratory, release, response
A chemical spill in the basement of Turlington caused the entire building and the adjoining restaurants to be evacuated.
The building was closed for about an hour while UF Environmental Health and Safety employees cleaned up the spill.
Nader Abo Dya, 35, and Suvendu Biswas, 27, were combining chemical compounds in Room B115 when one of them dropped five grams of 2-Chloroethyl Isocyanate, a liquid compound that is combustible and moisture-sensitive.
The compound's uses range from chemotherapy treatment to the manufacturing of foams, paints and insulation materials, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It can be harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin.
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HAZMAT CALL FORCES CALIF. ART INSTITUTE EVACUATION
Tags: us_CA, education, release, injury, cleaners
Oct. 17--SAN BERNARDINO -- Firefighters evacuated more than 1,200 students and staff from the Art Institute of California on Monday after a bucket of cleaning solution sickened several students in a cooking class.
San Bernardino firefighters came to the campus, 674 E. Brier Drive at 9:20 a.m., when they received a call about four students who became sick after mixing a solution in a cleaning bucket.
"It turned into a mist or cloud and they had difficulty breathing," said San Bernardino fire spokesman Tom Rubio.
Firefighters took two of the four students to hospitals for treatment. The other two were examined at the scene for contamination, but were not hospitalized.
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FOUR PEOPLE SENT TO HOSPITAL AS CHEMICAL FUMES HIT CALGARY SWIMMING POOL
Tags: Canada, public, release, injury, chlorine
Four people were sent to hospital with breathing problems after a possible chlorine leak at a south side swimming pool Monday evening.
At around 6:30 p.m. fire crews were dispatched to a small privately owned swimming pool at 4652 Macleod Trail S.E., the Calgary fire department said in a news release.
When they arrived, they found a number of people with difficulty breathing and a strong smell of chlorine in the air.
Four people were sent to Rockyview Hospital while the building and neighbouring stores were evacuated and surrounding roads shut down, the department said.
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FLUORIDE LEAK REPORTED AT CITY WATER PLANT
Tags: us_VA, industrial, release, response, water_treatment
City officials expect a chemical leak that began over the weekend at Martinsville=92s water treatment plant to pose no health hazard to the public.
While the plant was operating normally on Sunday, two employees noticed a leak in a tank containing fluorosilicic acid, said city Fire Chief Kenneth Draper.
To help prevent tooth decay, the chemical =97 commonly known as fluoride =97 is put in drinking water distributed to city utility customers, he said.
According to Draper, officials think the chemical leaked out from a transfer pump due to the corrosion of pump components. After the leak was noticed, treatment plant employees notified city emergency personnel, who were on the scene late Monday coordinating remediation efforts, Draper said.
=93Most of it went into the ground between the tank and the parking lot,=94 he said of the chemical.
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SCHOOL CLOSED IN POISONOUS GAS ALERT
Tags: United_Arab_Emirates, industrial, explosion, response, unknown_chemical
DUBAI // A school has been shut down for the rest of the week because of what Civil Defence officials described as "poisonous gases" from a smouldering fire at a nearby chemical factory.
It is the second time Greenfield Community School has been closed since the blaze last Tuesday at the Reda Industrial Materials warehouse in Dubai Investments Park.
The warehouse burst into flames after what witnesses called an enormous explosion that sent a fireball hundreds of metres into the air.
More than 70 different industrial and food chemicals were believed to have been stored in the warehouse at the time of the fire.
"We would like to inform you that the air surrounding the site of the fire which took place at the chemical warehouse is still polluted by poisonous gases carried by plumes of smoke," the Civil Defence said in a notice to the school yesterday.
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MFD FIRE REPORT =96 OCTOBER 18, 2011
Tags: us_KY, public, fire, response, fire_extinguisher
MADISONVILLE, KY (10/18/11) =96 The following is your weekly fire report provided by the Madisonville Fire Department (MFD).
On October 14 MFD received an alarm from Central Dispatch for a fire at the Kroger gas pumps at 240 Island Ford Road. Upon arrival, crew found one vehicle at the pump with no fire showing. Gas fumes ignited when the vehicle owner removed the gas cap and static discharge occurred from touching the vehicle. A dry chemical extinguisher was used by a store employee to extinguish the fire prior to M.F.D. arrival. The employee advised that the emergency gas pump deactivation switch was activated. The rear of the vehicle was checked for any additional hot spots, but none were found. No further action was taken and all units returned to station.
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NINE WORKERS CHECKED OVER AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL AT FIFE PLANT
Tags: United_Kingdom, public, release, injury, nitric_acid, waste
Workers are being checked over after a chemical spill at a recycling centre in Fife.
Fire crews, ambulance and police were called at around midday on Tuesday after the nitric acid was spilt at Wellwood Recycling Plant near Dunfermline.
Nine people had to be taken to hospital to be treated after they inhaled the fumes from the fluid.
The area around the container has been cordoned off and workers who may have come into contact with or inhaled the fluid are being checked over.
The 10 litres of fluid is 68% nitric acid and cannot be cleaned up by firefighters, who are having to call in specialist company.
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REPORT FINDS FAULT WITH COLLEGE LABS OVER POOR SAFETY RECORD =96 USATODAY.COM Tags: laboratory, discovery, response, follow-up
An explosion that severely burned a Texas Tech graduate student last year suggests safety problems plague college labs nationwide, a federal watchdog agency warned.
A report released Wednesday by the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), an independent safety agency, examines the Jan. 7, 2010, detonation at Texas Tech University in Lubbock that cost the student, Preston Brown, three fingers and caused severe burns and eye damage. Brown had set out to produce 10 grams of an explosive compound =97 100 times more than an informal lab limit =97 for research sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security.
"The report serves as a cautionary tale for universities across the country," CSB's Daniel Horowitz says.
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